


That Guy

by Diary



Category: As the World Turns
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awkward Conversations, Background Relationships, Bechdel Test Fail, Breaking Up & Making Up, Canon Gay Character, Friendship/Love, Late Night Conversations, M/M, Minor Bob Hughes/Kim Hughes, Minor Chris Hughes (ATWT)/Katie Peretti, POV Male Character, POV Queer Character, POV Reid Oliver, Romance, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-21
Updated: 2016-03-21
Packaged: 2018-05-28 01:07:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6308005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diary/pseuds/Diary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Repost. “Before Luke, your life consisted of work, a monthly tennis match, and torturing a little girl.” Complete.</p>
            </blockquote>





	That Guy

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own As the World Turns.

“Luke,” he pleads. “Wait.”

Luke looks at him with demanding eyes.

“Chris and I have a special case. I can't give you the name of the patient or tell you what the circumstances are. But I'm not lying. I did help Chris because I don't think it would sporting for him to lose when he's barely got his foot in the race.”

Luke sighs, and Reid hopes. He hopes desperately.

“I'm sorry,” Luke says.

Reid feels his stomach drop. He knows Luke is pre-emptively apologising for not being able to accept this.

Taking a deep breath, Luke says, “Something just doesn't seem right. And I have to listen to that part of me.”

He looks heartbroken, but his face has nothing on what Reid's insides are doing. “Don't be a coward, Mister Snyder. If you can't or don't trust me, have the guts to look me in the eye and say so.”

“I want to,” Luke softly tells him. “But something more is going on. Things don't add up.”

“Say it.”

Instead, Luke turns and walks away.

…

In the locker room, Reid resists the urge to shove Chris against the wall.

“I need another injection,” Chris says. “When do you get off?”

With someone, instead of my hand? Whenever I manage to get over Luke Snyder; could be never, he thinks but doesn't say.

“Doogie, if you want to die, leave your life to chance, go ahead. I'm done helping you.” 

Chris pauses, and Reid sees the worry, anger, and confusion. “I'm required to keep my mouth shut, but I'm not required to treat you.”

“Tell Daddy Hughes whatever you want,” he adds. “I'll be in Dallas before everyone in your inbred family can finish sharpening their pitchforks.” 

“Reid,” Chris begins.

“Chris, because of you, Luke-” He pauses, takes a deep breath, and reminds himself why pushing Chris against the wall is a bad idea. Then, he firmly tells the uncaring part he's still not going to.

“Something happened with Luke,” Chris says.

He looks sick, and Reid isn't sure if it's guilt or the virus.

“I'm-”

“No, you're not,” Reid snaps. “Time to grow up, Doogie. This shouldn't be about old grudges, the chief of staff position, or getting in my roommate's bed. This is your health. This is my life. Somehow, I'm thinking you don't cause the dissolution of other rival's relationships. Well, congratulations. I no longer have a boyfriend. And I can live with that. But I'll be damned if I lose my medical license. You die, and I do whatever it takes to convince everyone that I knew nothing. Which shouldn't be too hard seeing as how you've been so insistent on covering our tracks. You tell them and try to make me into the bad guy, like I said, I'll already out of town and talking to a lawyer.”

He walks out.

…

Katie demands to know if it's true he and Luke broke up.

Chewing his sandwich, he thinks about how much he hates Chris.

“Reid, what did you do? Things were going so well. Have you apologised?”

“Why is the automatic assumption that I'm to blame?”

She's about to answer but sees he's serious. Sighing, she sits down. “I'm sorry. That was- Reid, is it your fault?”

“It's no one's fault.”

It's Luke's fault for not trusting him. It's his fault for not running to get Bob the minute he found out why Chris was drawing his own blood. It's Noah's fault for being a self-absorbed foolish brat who refused to accept all the love Luke gave so freely. It's her fault for somehow becoming one of the few people he's genuinely cared about outside of medicine since he was a kid, and the same goes for the drooling kid who often screams the house down.

Opening his soda, he says, “Luke has trust issues, and I'm always running off, coming in later than I planned, and not being able to give him a full answer on how my day was.”

“Luke seems pretty trusting,” she offers.

He rolls his eyes, and then, he agrees, “Oh, he is. He'll lend money with no due date. Although, considering his family's money, that isn't saying much. But he's the type who trusts almost anyone, even when they've severely violated it in the past. Bad dad is one of the few exceptions, and even then, he did eventually trust him again.”

Swallowing, he says, “But after the train wreck that was his relationship with Noah, he needs someone warm and cuddly, who will make him feel safe and secure and loved and all that psychobabble crap. And I can't be that guy.”

“But you do,” is her sad response. “You're in love with him.”

“Even if that's true, I still can't be that guy.”

“Reid, you gave up your position as head of the neurowing for him.”

“There's a difference,” he tells her. “I don't need a neurology wing to be a doctor. If I start telling him anything specific about any of my patients, that's going down a very slippery line. And I do need to be a doctor. Maybe all those cloying sentimental Hallmark cards are right and I need him. Fine. But not as much as I need to be a doctor, to save lives.”

Shaking her head, she gets up to go check on Jacob.

…

The next morning he sees Luke talking to Noah.

He doesn't care if they're together or not (except for the part where he does), but he's not going to deal with the two of them as a combined force. He can deal with the hospital's contractually obliged to taste like it has extremely unpleasant things mixed within coffee.

“Reid!”

Déjà vu isn't the word he's looking for; he knows for a fact Luke running after him out of Java's did happen in the past. However, whatever the appropriate word, the feeling is uncomfortably eerie as he turns.

“We're not back together,” Luke breathlessly declares. “I mean- Noah. Noah and I aren't back together.”

“It's none of my concern,” Reid answers. “I left because dealing with the two of you separately is bad enough; put you two in range of one another, and I'm guaranteed to develop a headache.”

“Reid,” is Luke’s exasperated reply.

It causes him to clench a fist and let his nails bite into the skin. Luke is the one who ended things. He shouldn't be the one who's still judging Reid for supposed his lack of people skills, the one who looks vaguely hurt and offended, the one who- “I have rounds.”

Nodding, Luke asks, “Later, can we talk?”

“The plans for the wing are done.”

“Not about that,” Luke quietly says.

“What, then?”

Sighing, Luke answers, “About what happened at the party.”

“You broke up with me because you couldn't trust me. What more is there to talk about?”

When Luke looks helplessly at him, Reid shakes his head. “You need to look out for yourself. And you need to try not to feel bad when you do. I'd rather be with someone who can trust me, anyway. Don't feel bad that that person isn't you.”

Luke should feel bad, though. The three times Reid has ever lied to him was when he lied about why he quit his job, possibly about Chris, and when he didn't immediately tell him about the ultimatum. He had planned to tell Luke, later, however. Not the smartest of moves, perhaps, he’ll admit, but he kept trying to get his courage up. The other lie was to protect himself rather than to hurt Luke or even to really deceive him.

As for Chris, he doesn't remember if he explicitly lied, but he'd been treating him instead having sex with him or plotting to rob a bank with him. Doctor-patient confidentiality mandates doctors don't tell the truth when asked about anything a person talking to them as a doctor says.

There might have been times before, when he still considered Luke Snyder an enemy, but whatever lies, they must have been small and harmless, or he'd remember them.

Luke has guilt perfected to an art form. What good would him feeling even worse than he does do?

“I'll see you at the next meeting,” he says as neutrally as he can manage.

Unfortunately, he thinks a hint or more of bitterness and anger might have crept in.

…

Life goes on.

He finds Chris and tells him when he gets off. Chris is a bastard, and Reid could lose his license over this, but it’s not the first time he’s deliberately chosen to put his license at risk.

He starts researching cardiologists.

At the hotel, Chris says, “I don't want to be the cause of you and Luke not working. Face it, Oliver, you'd manage to screw it up on your own, eventually. I- I could-”

“You could open your mouth and tell the truth.” Finishing the injection, he checks Chris's pulse. “Tell them, Doogie. Or I'm bringing in a cardiologist, and I will make sure he or she knows exactly why you haven't had an MRI. Whether they tell or not isn't my concern. I will finally be able to walk away with no guilt or obligation.”

“You can't think of something to tell Luke?”

“Of course, I could. But then, I would be lying.” Letting go of the wrist, he adds, “Unlike your approach to relationships, I prefer to build mine on trust.”

Chris is quiet and contemplative.

Reid can only hope the idiot with his claims he's being silent to avoid hurting others will have enough decency to tell the truth before another relationship is destroyed. Despite his showings of remorse, Doogie couldn't care less about Reid's, but surely, he does genuinely care about other people's.

…

He calls Luke and asks if they can meet at Al's.

“What do you know about John Dixon,” he asks.

He ignores the flash of hope followed by hurt disappointment flashing across Luke's face.

“Uh, John Dixon? He was married to my grandmother for a while.” While Reid's trying to ponder this, Luke continues, “He's brilliant. And a lot like you in terms of personality and in not having much use for hospital politics, but I'm not sure if you'd like him or hate him.”

“Why would I hate him?”

Shrugging, Luke looks down at his coffee. “Don't tell anyone, okay?”

Warily, Reid nods.

“It could just be gossip,” Luke clarifies. “But Dr Dixon was married to Kim Hughes once.” At Reid's look, he laughs. “Yeah. They even have a son.”

“I'm never going to let Bob live this down.”

“Reid.”

“After I win the chief of staff position, of course.”

“Well, that's something, I guess,” Luke says while trying to hide his smile behind his hand. Then, wrinkling his noise, he wonders, “What am I saying?”

“So, where does the gossip part come in?”

“Again, just a rumour,” Luke stresses. “But several people think he raped Kim when they were married. I mean, martial rape wasn't recognised when they were married, so, if she reported it, there was never any official police report.”

Reid cocks his head, and Luke admits, “Yeah, I looked. I didn't want to invade her privacy, but my grandmother was once married to the man.”

He shrugs. “I've met him a few times, but I don't know him. Since Lucinda isn't married to him anymore, and I've never gotten the feeling he hurt her like that, it's not something I'm going to ask Kim.”

“And if he did, you thought I might still like the man,” Reid demands.

“No,” Luke answers in his quiet, soothing voice. “But if you met him and knew nothing about the rumours, I'd say there was a fifty percent chance you'd either be thrilled to have someone like him in this town, or you'd hate his guts due to ego or whatever.”

“Thank you.”

As if on instinct, Luke reaches over to take his hand. However, at Reid's look, he quickly withdraws. “Why do you want to know about him?”

“I'm bringing in a cardiology specialist, and he's on the top of my list so far.”

“Good luck,” Luke offers.

Standing, he nods. It would be so easy and so natural to lean down and chastely give Luke a peck on the lips. Everything is screaming for him to do so.

Taking a breath, he turns and leaves.

…

“You and your wife aren't having lunch together?”

It's just like them, he reflects, to throw off his plans. Every day, he has to put up with them holding hands and eating together in the cafeteria, despite the fact Bob does have his own office.

The one day, however, he actually needs Kim Hughes to be in the hospital, she's nowhere to be found.

Bob gives him an amused look. “Dr Oliver, if you were nicer to my wife, you wouldn't have to try to steal my cookies.”

It takes Reid a minute to figure out what exactly Bob is talking about.

Kim Hughes always brings these health-nut cookies in. Bob hates them, and Reid loves them. As a result, he’ll often walk over and grab half of them.

After the glaring and sharp comments, Kim no doubt goes home and adds another pin to her voodoo doll of him.

“She knows how to hold a grudge,” Reid comments.

Great, he thinks. It looks like I’m off to the TV station. Or radio station. Whatever the place she runs is.

Bob offers, “I think Christopher keeps some in his locker. He dislikes them just as much as I do.”

How he wishes this were about cookies. “Doogie wouldn't share with me,” he says. “I left my,” think of something, think of something, he tells himself, “flash drive at Katie's. I'll be back in an hour.”

“An hour?”

“I was in the middle of putting fresh labels on them when Jacob- Never mind. I need to find out which one is which.”

Looking slightly sceptical, Bob simply nods.

…

Sighing, he looks at the building.

Kim Hughes despises him.

He doesn't really mind her. She's a lot like how he imagines Katie twenty or so years down the road. He just hopes Katie's parenting won't turn Jacob into someone like Chris.

Bracing himself, he gets out and goes inside. It's not hard to find her.

“Dr Oliver,” she greets with icy politeness. However, worry quickly replaces it, and she frets, “Is something wrong with Bob?”

“No,” he answers. “Could I talk to you privately?”

Looking at him suspiciously, she nevertheless nods, leads him to her office, and shuts the door.

“So, tell me about John Dixon,” he says.

She jumps slightly. “John Dixon?” Then, understanding crosses her face, though, Reid is guessing it's the wrong understanding. “You need him for a patient,” she says. “And my husband is being stubborn. That's why you're here. You think I can help.”

“No.” He reflects on how much he already hates this conversation. “I do have a patient in need of a specialist in cardiology, but I haven't talked to your husband, yet.”

“Well, if you want a lay person's opinion,” she says, “John is brilliant. You can't do better than him.”

“You were married to him,” Reid says. “And I've heard some things about your marriage. If bringing him is going to be a problem for you, I need to know.”

She doesn't look surprised at his knowledge of her previous marriage. “Dr Oliver, he and I have been divorced for decades. Bob is the one you need to worry about. And if I need to, I will help you convince him, for this patient's sake.”

A large part of him is tempted to leave it. Chris is running out of time.

Still, if the rumours are true, John Dixon didn't hit her car or insult her profession; he crossed a line no person should ever cross. “With all due respect,” he says and finds himself actually meaning the normally cliché words, “if what I've heard about your former marriage is true-”

She freezes. “What exactly have you heard,” she asks in a clipped tone.

Not wanting to but forcing himself to look her in the eyes, he answers, “That he raped you, Mrs Hughes.”

Her face shuts down, and he wishes he knew how in the hell to interpret this.

Taking a breath but maintaining eye contact, she quietly tells him, “John Dixon isn't a threat to any patient, female or not. Whatever did or didn't happen between he and I is none of your concern. If you need a top-notch cardiologist, get him for your patient.”

Some part realises he's not going to get explicit confirmation or denial. Whatever happened in their marriage, whether rape was involved or not, she's determined not to dwell on it. He could respect this, if not for her idiot son possibly dying. If it didn't happen, why can't she just deny it? Lack of denial is usually non-explicit confirmation in cases like this.

And now, she's looking at him sympathetically. Reaching over, she picks up the phone, dials, and motions for him to sit.

“Hello, I'm calling for Dr Reid Oliver at Memorial in Oakdale. Is Dr Dixon available?” After a minute, she answers, “Illinois. No, that's Bob Hughes. Doctor Oliver is a neurosurgeon. Ma'am, I'm not a doctor. All I know is he needs a consult for a patient. Yes, thank you.”

She holds the phone out. “I'll give you some privacy.”

Unhappily, he nods and takes the phone.

Kim leaves and re-shuts the door behind her.

“This is John Dixon.”

“Reid Oliver,” Reid says.

…

Unfortunately, Chris is a self-sabotaging idiot and collapses in the middle of the hospital floor while he's holding Jacob.

Thankfully, the baby is unharmed.

As soon as he helps get Chris stabilised and quickly explains what the cause is, he gets the hell out of Dodge.

Of course, somehow, Luke finds him sitting on a table in the park and going over his notes.

“Hey,” Luke greets. He sits down on the bench and leans against Reid's leg.

“Don't you have a meeting for the foundation?”

“I promised to babysit Ethan this weekend in exchange for Mom taking over. It's a financial meeting; she can handle it without me.”

“Let's have the lecture.”

“No lecture. Chris used doctor-patient confidentially to force you to be quiet. I just wish I had been able to help.”

“I couldn't tell you.”

Nodding, Luke says, “I know. I still wish I could have figured it out on my own or something. You shouldn't have had to go through something like this alone.”

I wasn't alone, until you ended things, he thinks.

Luke would be insecure and have trust issues whether or not the situation with Chris had happened or not. Who knows if they'd have still broken up, or if, eventually, Reid would have been able to prove he was- Well, there's no point in dwelling, is there? They ended on as good a note as possible, and in the short time they were together, they didn't manage to have any epic fights.

Some part of Reid is always going to kick himself for not taking Luke up on his offer after their disastrous date, but Luke was trying to placate and Reid was jealous of Noah and worried about Chris. He knows they would have both regretted it more if he had accepted.

Knowing this doesn't help much, though.

He also knows Luke was right to put a stop to things on the day of Noah's surgery. Some mistakes can be foreseen without them being made. He'd just been too upset and too desperate to acknowledge Luke wasn't ready, and really, neither was he. No matter how much he wants a person, he's always wanted the person to want him back. Pity sex or sex with the first person willing has never done anything for him.

“I know now,” Luke says. He wraps an arm around the leg. “Let me help.”

“I'd appreciate it.” He sighs. “And if Bob doesn't kill or fire me, I'll need more people lessons. Minus the encouragement, of course, but I've made three nurses cry this week. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem, but I was trying to be civil.”

In Dallas, most nurses either called him an asshole or insulted everything from his taste in ties to his sexual potency. He’d made exactly four of them cry, and one of them, bizarrely enough, had cried due to happiness rather than pain or offence.

He misses those nurses.

“I’ll make room in my schedule,” Luke says in a tone Reid can't quite place.

…

After John Dixon calls, Luke coaxes him into coming to Lily Walsh's house. “You need to sleep, Reid. You haven't been, have you?”

He hasn't. “How do you know?”

Luke doesn't answer. He closes the blinds to his bedroom while Reid takes off his belt and shoes. After Reid climbs into the bed, Luke shuts the door and turns off the lights before crawling in beside him. When Reid starts to protest, Luke jokes, “Your virtue's safe.”

It falls flat.

“I just want to make sure you actually sleep.”

Turning onto his side, Reid closes his eyes and feels sleep overcome him. He thinks Luke might have wrapped his arms around him, but he doesn't let himself wake up to find out.

…

His beeper wakes both of them.

…

“Bob,” he says.

Bob shakes his head. “Chris is doing better. There's severe damage, but John is hopeful a transplant won't be needed. Thank you.”

Then, seeing Reid is still standing there, he says, “Oh. Kim and Christopher explained the situation to Katie and me. I'm curious, however, what exactly you said to my wife.”

Reid has no idea if Bob knows of the rumours. Whatever happened, Reid guesses Bob knows the truth. However, there's a chance he doesn't, and Reid isn't going to risk causing martial problems.

“When I was researching candidates, I asked Luke about Dr Dixon. He said that Kim and John were once married. I got the impression it wasn't a good marriage. I asked her about it.”

“Why?”

A light shining in his face would be less torturous than this. “Bob, I wasn't going to bring someone in who caused you and her unnecessary pain.” Too truthful, he realises, but it's been said. “I mean, the two of you are everywhere, and too much drama stops being amusing and starts inducing headaches. I wanted to know if I needed to cross him off and find someone else.”

Nodding, Bob stands. “I'm sorry for the position you were put in. And I'm grateful for what you did.” Walking over, he clasps Reid on the shoulder. “I'm going to check on Jacob. One of the paediatric nurses took him to the daycare.”

“He's still okay?”

Squeezing, Bob answers, “Yes.”

…

In the waiting room, Reid sinks down next to Luke. “Well, Bob isn't out for blood.” Absently, he reaches over and pats Luke's knee. “I'm going to go home and sleep some more. Katie may want me out as soon as she comes home.”

“I think she'll be understanding.”

“Hope so,” Reid says with a yawn.

“Let me drive you home.”

Too tired to argue, Reid just nods and stands.

…

He wakes up and goes to the living room.

Katie and Jacob haven't come back, and Luke is sleeping on the couch.

For a minute, Reid simply looks at him. He's always known Luke was attractive; even when he was literally wishing for Luke Snyder’s speedy death, he could acknowledge this with no problem.

This, this goes deeper.

He's ended relationships and had others end them. Almost all, no matter who was responsible for the termination, ended with little-to-no regret. He's lusted after men he could never have and eventually fallen out of it.

Reid knows Doogie is likely right; the chance he would have been the one to mess things up is high. But dammit, he would have tried. He would have tried to be worthy of any love Luke gave. He would have tried to show how much Luke meant to him.  

Snapping his fingers, he watches in amusement as Luke jolts awake and automatically brings fingers to his face to check for drool. “Hey,” he murmurs.

“Hey yourself. Come on. I'll drive you home. Farm or Lily Walsh's?”

Blinking blearily, Luke stretches. “I need to talk to you about us.”

“There's nothing to talk about.”

“Yes, there is,” Luke insists. “Reid-”

“We understand each other's motivations. I'm not going to go against my oath just to placate my boyfriend. You need someone who will answer any question with full disclosure.”

He feels vaguely sick. It would, he realises, be easier if there was a clear wrong-doer in this scenario.

“I was wrong.”

He can't handle this. He really can't. “There's nothing wrong with not being with someone you can't trust. Look, Luke, I'm going to have to deal with Katie and who knows what else tomorrow. If you still feel the need for closure or whatever pop psychology concept that's all the rage once things have settled, we can talk then.”

“Okay,” Luke agrees with his unhappiness clear.

…

Katie wraps herself tightly around him in the waiting room. “Some part of me hates you for keeping this from me,” she says with tears falling and her body shaking. “But I need you. I don't know if I can handle this.”

He kisses her head and stands silently while she cries against him. Once she's done, he'll try to find the right words.

…

“How's Katie,” Chris asks.

“Terrified,” is Reid’s pointed answer. “You know, sure, I annoyed Hank, but I like him. Why couldn't she have fallen for him instead of you?”

Laughing, and then, breaking into a cough, Chris says, “Congratulations.”

“On annoying Hank?”

“On the new chief of staff position.”

Rolling his eyes, Reid sits down. “Oh, shut up. You know I don't want the job that way.”

“Reid-”

“John's going to start treatment immediately,” he says. “You're going to jog out of here, and then, I'm going to dismantle you, fair and square.” He smirks as he hands the cup to Chris.

“Take care of Katie,” Chris softly tells him.

“When she kills you, I will have your corpse discreetly donated to a lab in Mexico,” Reid promises. “No one will be able to trace it back to her.”

“You do that,” Chris says with a shake of his head. “I was kinda thinking, help her with Jacob, hold her hand when she cries, that sort of thing, but yes, if she does kill someone, please, use your sociopathy to help her. Hey, is Luke around?”

“Yes,” Reid answers. “He's taking the kid for a walk. Why?”

“I want to see him.”

“Okay,” Reid agrees. “I'll tell him when he gets back.”

“Thank you.”

…

“You've been summoned,” he informs Luke.

Luke hands Jacob over to Katie. “Me?”

“Unless you happen to know any other-”

Katie pushes Luke towards the door with her foot. “Honey, just go before he gets on a roll.”

Reid frowns at her, and she giggles. “Sorry, roomie. I'm going to go get some coffee. Hold Jacob?”

“Yeah, sure,” Reid agrees. Jacob immediately reaches towards Reid's head. “We really need to find you some curly-haired people to torture,” he notes.

Jacob babbles in response.

…

“Go home,” Bob orders.

Reid looks up from his chart. “No.”

“Your rounds are over, Dr Oliver,” Bob gently tells him. “As much as I appreciate your concern, we both know you sticking around won't have any effect on Christopher's treatments.”

“Katie wants me to stick around to translate.”

“Take it from someone who knows: Luke's understanding will only go so far. Go home and spend time with him.”

He's going to reply, but something must have shown on his face.

Bob cuts off his attempt with a heavy sigh. “Like father, like son, I suppose.”

“If it weren't Chris, it would be something else,” Reid says. He looks back down at his notes.

“I feel I owe you-”

What? An explanation for how you managed to raise such a self-destructive, selfish son, he wonders. An apology for raising such a son?

“I was wrong to give you that ultimatum.”

Putting his papers down, Reid says, “You win. I'll go home. And can we just leave it at that? I was angry, but it worked out. You were honestly doing what you thought was best for the hospital. I can respect that and still think you went about it in the wrong way.”

“Very well. Goodnight, Reid.”

“Night, Bob.”

He puts his notes away and goes to check on Chris.

Katie and Jacob are curled up asleep on a cot in the corner.

Walking over, Reid picks up the sleeping Chris’s wrist, finds the pulse point, and mentally counting as he looks at his watch. Finding the pulse is within normal range, he walks over and pulls a strand of Katie's hair out of Jacob's mouth.

Jacob opens his eyes, makes a frowny face, and then, falls back asleep.

“I suppose a hair fetish is healthier than some of the ones out there,” he murmurs while pulling the blanket up more securely over the two.

…

Luke is in the apartment.

Reid doesn’t particularly mind, but he is curious as to how Luke got in.

“Katie gave me a key,” Luke says. He sets his book down and stands. “How's Chris?”

“He's doing better. Haven't seen you around since last night.”

“Yeah,” Luke says. “I should have trusted you.”

Going to the refrigerator, Reid says, “It would have been nice.”

“I know it isn't an excuse, but I guess Noah managed to plant a seed of doubt. When he told me you were going to another man's hotel room-”

Getting the leftover brownies Katie bought for some kid's birthday party out, Reid scoffs. “If I didn't want to be with you, I'd tell you to your face. I wouldn't string you along and-”

“I know that. I- It's stupid, but some part of me was just afraid, with me not- being ready.”

“Yes, that is stupid,” Reid snaps. Sitting down at the table, he repeats, “You're not all that, Mister Snyder. I wouldn't give up a state-of-the-art neurological wing just to have sex with somebody. And even if you want to go with the belief I feel sex is an absolute-must for relationships, I'm still not the type who wouldn't be upfront about that.”

“You didn't come in that night.”

“Can you honestly say you were offering for the right reasons?”

“What do you consider the right reasons?” Luke sits down, and Reid reluctantly motions for him to have some of the brownies.     

“Not as a response to your date's jealousy over an ex. Not because you're afraid or trying to win or whatever was going on in your head.” He sighs and breaks a brownie in half. “There wasn't lust in your face. If you'd delivered that invitation in public, people would have automatically assigned innocent meaning to it.”

“How do you know for sure I was inviting you in for that,” Luke demands with a trace of irritation.

“Why else would you feel the need to clarify that no one was home?”

For a long moment, Luke is silent. “I was willing to have sex with Noah before we said we loved one another. We didn't. Circumstances, never the right time, a large lack of privacy. But once I did, my feelings were clearer and sharper. I knew then that I was completely in love with him.”

“Do I really need to hear this?”

“Yes.” Reaching over, Luke takes his free hand. “Near the end, before the blindness, I didn't like who I was, what I felt. We just kept drifting, and I didn't want to accept that. Maybe it would have been better if I had, but I kept thinking we could get back to being in love and happy.”

Making a soft sound, Luke says, “I kept thinking, as long as I don't fully acknowledge what I feel for you, as long as I can deny how deep it goes, it won't hurt when something happens. I do believe that love can last, for other people. But not Snyders. Not Grimaldis. My parents are both single. My grandmothers are single. My aunt is in a mental institution partly because of her screwed history with men. My half-siblings, as far as I know, are all single. Uncle Jack is with Carly, but honestly, I'm not sure how long that will last. Damien is always going to have some weird obsession with my mother.”

“And the thing is,” he continues, “there's nothing wrong with being single. But the only one I know of who had a stable, happy relationship was Grandma Emma. Her marriage ended due to death. Brad was happy with Katie, and he's responsible for helping make Jacob, but he never even got to hold his son. Does this make sense to you?”

Nodding, Reid tries to decide whether he wants to kill the Snyder family for giving Luke such bleak role models when it comes to relationships or if he wants to have all of them put under psychiatric observation to see how such dysfunctional people could possibly exist. He may be rude and socially awkward, but he's more well-adjusted than they are.

Breaking the last brownie in half and pushing the smaller half over to Luke, he asks, “So, what I said about marriage, you'd agree with it as long as it was limited to your own family?”

“And Damien,” Luke adds. “No. I mean, some of them. But I think Brad and Katie could have been happy if he lived. Grandma Emma was happy. And I have to believe that Faith, Natalie, and Ethan have a decent shot at finding the right person. Sure, there will be probably be heartbreaks, but most people have to go through a few of those before they find the right person.”

“You and Noah ending- Some people aren't meant to last,” Reid says. “And I can understand how it can take some time to trust yourself, to trust another person. Especially if you fall for someone so quickly after a messy breakup. But I suggest that, next time, you don't get involved until you can look forward to discovering just how deeply your feelings go.”

“Next time? Does that mean there's no chance for us?”

It's an unfair question, and the worst part is, Reid doesn't think Luke even realises just how unfair it is. “If I'm going to put myself out there, I want the whole enchilada. I don't just mean sex. I mean, I want mutual trust. There's been unorthodox situations like Chris's in the past, and there will be in the future. I need someone who will believe me when I explain that I helped a patient to their room, gave the necessary help, and left. Other than that, I don't want the spirit of ex-boyfriends on dates. And I don't know what you want, but it's time to face the facts and have both of us admit that I'm not it.”

“That's not true.”

Shrugging, Reid stands up. “I've never settled when it came to relationships, and I'm not going to start now. You don't seem like the type who willingly settles, either. I'm going to bed. You can crash in Katie's room or the couch if you want.”

…

He doesn't see much of Luke outside of board meetings.

Some part of him wonders why Luke was always around when he didn't want him, but when he misses Luke, Luke’s never around. He knows it's probably for the best, but it still hurts.

Chris continues to get better, and Katie starts actually coming home once Bob points out a hospital isn't a place a healthy baby should send a significant amount of time in.

“Henry and Barbara are safely in Italy,” she tells him from the couch. “They're going to come back in two months when her granddaughter has her birthday.”

“Hmm,” he says. “I miss Hank.”

“I hear there's a new intern who's taken his place as your playmate.”

“A nurse,” he corrects. “This one reacts without leaking. But she's so- competent at her retorts. Hank always blubbered and tripped over his words.”

“Ah,” Katie says. Then, she gets a bewildered look on her face. “I should not be encouraging you. Why do you keep torturing her, then?”

“She stamps her foot a lot. If a hole appears in the floor before Bob retires, I am going to us that as proof that him forcing me to interact with the staff is a danger to the hospital.”

“Uh-huh.” Stretching out, she closes her eyes. “Doctor Oliver, if I didn't know your tastes, I'd say you were pulling pigtails.”

“I'm just saying: With Hank gone and most of the nurses avoiding me like the black plague, this half-horse town has become even more boring than before.”

“I thought you wanted nurses to avoid you.”

“I don't want to be bored. Until word about the new neurology wing starts to really spread, all I have to look forward to is 911s and regular rounds. And the too-infrequent referral. I think the number of neurological cases have bizarrely gone down.”

Sitting up, she smiles brightly.

“I don't like that look.”

“I don't think the numbers have gone down. I think Luke brought something into your life, and now, you're missing it.”

“No, really, I can look up the numbers,” he says. “You know, if you push this, I will.”

“This isn't about numbers. Luke, he forced you to have fun outside of work.”

“I had fun outside of work,” he protests.

Sighing, she says, “Playing a monthly game of tennis against an aide from the Planned Parenthood down the street only counts a little bit. And torturing the little Chinese girl at your favourite Thai restaurant- is still frankly a little disturbing.”

“It's not torture if the girl's mother enjoys it.”

“Right. I guess, technically, that does count. But you know, eventually, she was going to grow up.”

“She has a baby brother. He was only two months old when I left.”

“Eventually, he would have, too.”

“It was a family restaurant. One of them would have stuck around, probably had a few kids of their own.”

“Reid.”

“What?”

“Before Luke, your life consisted of work, a monthly tennis match, and torturing a little girl.”

“I had relationships.”

“Did any of them come close to what he makes you feel?”

They both know the answer. Reid can verbally deny it all he wants, but the truth of the matter is, he's in love with Luke Snyder. He had two long-term relationships in the past. Both ended on a regretful but not heartbreaking note. The rest of the time he was single or in an exclusive sexual relationship usually lasting two-to-three months.

“That isn't the point. The point is: I'm sure the numbers are lower than before. The only referral Luke's ever brought in was Noah Mayer, which I didn't want. And with lower referrals and practically no cases needing my expertise-”

She gets up and walks over. “Are you thinking of leaving? If so, I'm going to beg you to at least stay until Jacob's first birthday.”

“What? No. I'm staying in Oakhell. I'm going to run my new neurology wing. I'm just complaining about how boring it's been lately.”

Sighing, she leans down and kisses his forehead. “Thank God. Me begging isn't a pretty sight.”

“Yeah. Do that, and I will be on the next plane out of here.”

“You do remember that you have your car, now, right?”

He swats at her with one of his medical journals.

…

“I'm being released,” Chris tells him.

“See you at the trustee party,” Reid answers while looking at the chart. “Why are you being prescribed these multivitamins?”

“I've been having a little trouble working up an appetite. John says it's temporary, but just to be safe, he's prescribing them to make sure I get plenty of nutrients. You know, Katie's going with me.”

“And should I be outraged at her or you? Which one was I expecting to attend with me?”

Scoffing, Chris says, “It won't look good if you show up alone.”

“Worry about yourself, Doogie.”

“Reid?”

“Hmm?”

“Why do you want the position so badly?”

“Hospital politics suck,” Reid answers. He puts the chart back. “We both know that. We also know that such the chief of staff is able to influence them. I sure as hell don't want to get even more entangled with them, but if doing so will make sure the uninsured and low-income patients are given proper care without going into debt and being made to feel like dirt, it'll be worth it. What's your reason, Doogie?”

Not answering, Chris picks up his cell phone and says, “Ask Luke to go with you. I don't care if you're broken up or not; he's the one person who can control you.”

“I just ignore half of his advice anyway. See you at the party.”

…

In the waiting room, he spots Luke.

Seeing him, Luke waves and walks over with a puzzled look on his face. “Um, Chris just texted and told me that if I wanted to see you and him alive, I'd better not let you go to the party alone. So, I guess if you don't object, I'm on babysitting duty?”

“Aren't you on babysitting duty for the oldest girl? The one who wore that barbie-pink monstrosity to your father's would-be wedding?”

“No. My grandmother, Lucinda, is on jailer duty. She and Mom are still having issues, but everyone agrees that she's probably the best person to deal with an out-of-control seventeen-year-old.”

“And you don't have anything better to do with your time than to go to a party with your ex-boyfriend?”

Shrugging, Luke says, “Ex or not, I still think you're the best person for the chief of staff position. I want to help you.”

“I'd,” he steels himself, “appreciate that.”

He'd also appreciate it if Doogie Hughes had had a freak accident on his way back to Oakdale.

“Should we meet at your place or mine to prep?”

“It'll have to be at mine. I promised Katie I'd watch Jacob for an hour or two until Margo showed up.”

“Okay. Seven good?”

…

“Come on, Reid,” Luke says with exasperation tingeing his voice.

“It's a stupid question, and I refuse to give some sugary, glittery answer.”

“There are more tactful ways to express-”

Ding.

“I'll get it,” Reid says.

He opens it to find Katie.

“I lost my key,” she explains. “Hey, Luke.”

Luke waves. “Hi, Katie.” To Chris, he says, “You look better.”

“Thanks,” Chris says. “I'll go get Jacob,” he tells Katie.

“Do not drop him,” she warns.

Reid retrieves her set of keys and tosses them to her.

“You get one avoid-protective-mama-going-after-you-with-the-nearest-improvised-weapon. And once it's used, you never get another one for as long as I live.”

“Well, technically, he didn't drop him,” Luke points out.

“If he'd been holding Ethan, how would you have reacted?”

“Probably a lot worse than you did,” Luke acknowledges.

Sitting down, Reid says, “I thought Margo was picking the kid up.”

Oddly, her response is to smile brightly.

“What's going on, Katie?” Luke sets his notes aside and leans forward.

Chris reappears, and Jacob reaches towards Reid's head. Chris hands him over. “Here, you go, kiddo. Better start getting used to me, though. He's not going to have near as much time once your granddad retires and makes him chief of staff.”

Luke jumps up, and Reid repositions Jacob. “Oh, wonderful. Another marriage. You know, Goldilocks, I don't care where you live, but until my lease is up, you can't force me to-

Grabbing Jacob's hands and moving them down, Luke cuffs Reid on the back of the head. “Reid. They didn't say anything about marriage. Although, if the two of you are: Congratulations. Focus on the part about the chief of staff position.”

He takes Jacob.

Confused, Reid says, “If Doogie still has delusions of winning, that's his problem. The two of you aren't getting married, then? Frankly, you can do so much better,” he informs Katie.

“I'm starting to regret this,” Chris mutters. Steeling himself, he extends his hand. “Just shake my hand, Oliver.”

Reid does and concentrates on Chris's pulse.

“Congratulations, Dr Oliver. The better man didn't win, but I'll acknowledge that the better doctor did.”

As Katie scolds Chris, everything finally falls into place. “You're dropping out of the race.”

Nodding, Chris wraps an arm around Katie. “It's a little soon for marriage, but I want to make a life with Katie and Jacob. Being an effective chief of staff will take too much time away from that.”

“I don't know what to say,” Reid admits.

Katie stands on her tiptoes and kisses his cheek. “You're stuck with me for a little while longer, roomie. We're going to take Jacob to Nancy's. Congratulations.” She takes Jacob from Luke.

Once they're gone, Luke excitedly declares, “This is wonderful!” He grabs Reid's hand and squeezes.

“Yeah,” Reid agrees. He feels incredibly light and warm. “It is.”

Luke reaches over and runs his hand through Reid's hair and over his neck.

Then, somehow, they’re kissing. Reid isn't sure who initiated it, but he's too caught up in the kiss to wonder. Instead, he concentrates on the feeling and getting Luke's shirt off so he can feel more skin.

Pulling Reid down on top of him, Luke's hands find his belt and start to undo it.

Briefly, Reid comes back to semi-rational thought and pulls back. “We should move this to the bedroom.”

“Yeah,” Luke agrees.

…

“We should probably talk,” Luke murmurs while pressing sleepy, open-mouthed kisses across Reid's chest.

“Later,” Reid says. He rolls over onto his stomach and slings an arm over Luke.

…

Reid wakes up alone.

Sighing, he reaches over and looks at his watch.

“Good going, Oliver,” he chastises himself.

Sex with Luke had been better than he imagined. Yet, obviously, it was still a mis-

Luke appears with a box of pizza and two sodas.

Reid lets out a sigh.

Luke sets the pizza down on the bed. “Hey. You don't look happy.”

“I thought you'd left,” Reid admits.

Shaking his head, Luke sits down.

“I'm going to get dressed,” Reid says. He leans over and kisses Luke.

…

After eating a slice, Reid breaks the uncomfortable silence by asking, “Did sex bring your feelings into clarity?”

“Yeah.”

“And?”

The hesitant but nevertheless resolute answer is, “I'm falling in love.”

A large amount of tension Reid didn't even notice he had leaves his body. “Doogie had a point,” he says. “Being chief of staff means even less time for-”

“Reid,” Luke interrupts. “Stop trying to give me an out. If you're willing to give me another chance, I'm taking it. I'm not settling. There'll be times when I'm still going to get insecure, but when that happens, I'm going to keep reminding myself that, if there's a problem, you'll be upfront about it.”

“And Noah?”

“I don't see him,” Luke says. Leaning down and looking under the bed, he asks, “Do you?” Sitting back up, he continues, “The only two people I see right now are you and me.”

Smiling, Reid looks down at his pizza and rolls his eyes. “There will be other cases that cause me to have to keep certain things secret.”

“I understand that, now.”

Nodding, Reid looks up. “So, do you want to go to the party as my boyfriend?”

Grinning, Luke nods. Then, he suggests, “You know, you can say you're falling in love any time you want.”

But I'm not, Reid thinks. “We can talk about it when you get there.”

“Okay,” Luke agrees. “But you should know,” he warns, “I'm already halfway there.”

“Good. I told you I'm not very good at being patient.”

It takes a minute for this to sink in, but Reid sees the exact second it does. Luke exhales deeply, his eyes soften, and a huge smile blossoms. Setting his plate down, he reaches over and gives Reid a long, slow kiss.


End file.
